Bubble and Twilio integrate through Bubble's native API Connector plugin and the Twilio REST API to add SMS verification, transactional notifications, and two-way messaging to no-code applications built on Bubble, giving non-developer teams a fully functional SMS capability without writing server-side code. This integration is used by Bubble developers and product teams building SaaS applications, marketplaces, and community platforms on Bubble who need phone number verification at signup, SMS notifications for in-app events, or two-way messaging for support and customer engagement. The Bubble API Connector calls the Twilio Messages API and Twilio Verify API directly from Bubble workflows, using shared headers for authentication.
What You Need Before You Start
Install the Bubble API Connector plugin by navigating to your Bubble app's Plugins tab, searching for API Connector, and clicking Install to add it to your app. Configure a new API in the API Connector by clicking Add Another API, naming it Twilio, setting the Authentication to Private Key in Header, entering Authorization as the header name, and entering the Base64-encoded value of your Account SID colon Auth Token using the format Basic {base64(accountSid:authToken)} as the value, which applies to all calls in this API group. From Twilio, collect your Account SID and Auth Token from the Twilio Console under Account, then General Settings, and provision an SMS-capable phone number, noting that you will also need to create a Twilio Verify Service in the Console under Verify, then Services for the OTP verification use case. Register your Twilio number under an A2P 10DLC campaign in the Twilio Console before enabling SMS to US numbers, and test the API Connector authentication by using the Initialize Call button in Bubble to confirm the Twilio API accepts the Basic auth header.
Step-by-Step Integration Guide
Create a Send SMS call in the Bubble API Connector under the Twilio API group by clicking Add Another Call, naming it Send SMS, setting the URL to https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{AccountSid}/Messages.json where AccountSid is your actual SID, the method to POST, the Data Type to Form Data, and adding three body parameters: To, From, and Body all as text fields. Mark To, Body as Dynamic in the API call definition so Bubble workflows can pass the recipient phone and message text at runtime, while From is set as a Static value equal to your Twilio phone number. Use this Send SMS call in a Bubble Workflow by adding a Step at the point you want to send SMS, selecting the Twilio Send SMS call, and mapping the To parameter to the user's phone field from your Bubble database and the Body parameter to a dynamic text field assembled from your app's data. For Twilio Verify OTP, create two additional API Connector calls: a Send Verification call that POSTs to https://verify.twilio.com/v2/Services/{ServiceSid}/Verifications with form data To and Channel set to sms, and a Check Verification call that POSTs to https://verify.twilio.com/v2/Services/{ServiceSid}/VerificationChecks with form data To and Code, then in the Check Verification response mapping set a condition on the status field returning approved to gate user registration.
Common Issues and How to Fix Them
Bubble API Connector calls to the Twilio API fail with a 401 Unauthorized response when the Authorization header value is not correctly Base64-encoded, which can happen if the Bubble API Connector's Private Key in Header option reformats the value before sending. Switch the Bubble API Connector authentication to None and manually add the Authorization header as a shared header with the value set to Basic followed by the Base64-encoded accountSid:authToken string using a URL-safe Base64 encoder, then verify the header value using Bubble's Initialize Call to see the raw request. Bubble's API Connector requires the Full Data response type to be initialized with a sample API response before the call can be used in workflows, and if you skip the initialization step the call appears in workflows but all response fields are missing. Always click Initialize Call in the Bubble API Connector editor after configuring each Twilio API call, send an actual SMS or verification during initialization to get a real Twilio response, and map all response fields you need such as status and error_message so they are available in Bubble workflow conditions. Phone numbers entered by Bubble app users through input elements are rarely in E.164 format, and the Twilio API returns a 21211 error for non-E.164 numbers. Add a Bubble client-side format constraint on the phone input element and add server-side formatting by using a Bubble backend workflow that applies a Custom Code step to normalize the phone before calling the Twilio API Connector.
How to Get More from This Integration
Build a full phone verification flow in Bubble by creating a multi-step popup with Step 1 showing a phone input that triggers the Twilio Verify Send Verification call, Step 2 showing an OTP input that triggers the Twilio Verify Check Verification call, and a Bubble condition on the Check response status field equal to approved that marks the user's phone_verified field in the database as true and closes the popup. Add SMS notification for Bubble marketplace events by adding a Twilio Send SMS workflow action to every key event in your app such as new message received, order placed, booking confirmed, and bid accepted, mapping the recipient's phone from the relevant database record to the To parameter and composing a context-specific Body from the event data. Create a two-way SMS inbox in your Bubble app by exposing a Bubble API workflow endpoint that receives Twilio inbound SMS webhooks via POST, stores the From phone, Body, and timestamp in a Bubble database type called SMS Message, and displays the messages in a Bubble repeating group sorted by timestamp, building a functional SMS inbox inside your no-code app. Extend the integration to Twilio WhatsApp by changing the From parameter in the Send SMS API Connector call to whatsapp:{yourTwilioNumber} and the To parameter to whatsapp:{userPhone}, enabling your Bubble app to send WhatsApp messages to users who opt in, using the same Twilio API Connector configuration without any additional setup.
Conclusion
Bubble and Twilio together give no-code application builders production-grade SMS verification and messaging capabilities without any server infrastructure, enabling sophisticated communication features within a fully visual development environment. Contact Telphi Consulting to configure and extend the Twilio API Connector setup for your Bubble application.
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